Fiber cleaner



March 4, 1958 G. J. KYAME 2,825,097

FIBER CLEANER Filed Jan. 10, 1955 INVENTOR GEORGE J. KYAME United ,SRCS

FIBER CLEANER George J. Kyame, New (brleans, La., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of Agriculture Application January 10, 1955, Serial No. 481,043

1 Claim. (Cl. 19-96) (Granted under rl`itle 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) A non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in the invention herein described, for all governmental purposes, throughout the world, with the power to grant sublicenses for such purposes, is hereby granted to the Government of the United States of America.

This invention relates to a fiber cleaner of the type having a rotatable beater cylinder which carries fibers contaminated with trash against spaced grid bars adjacent the cylinder, the fibers being buffeted against the grid bars for expelling the trash outwardly between them, a dcoffer being provided for doffing the cleaned fibers from the beater cylinder.

In general, .according to the invention, the fiber cleaner is provided with an improved rotatable feed roll for feeding the contaminated fibers onto the beater cylinder. The feed roll is mounted parallel and adjacent to the beater cylinder with the face of the feed roll moving in the same direction as the adjacent face of the beater cylinder but at a lesser speed. The feed roll is provided with forwardly and backwardly pointing teeth on its periphery. The teeth -of the beater cylinder pick up fibers from the forwardly pointing teeth of the feed roll and comb them through the backwardly pointing teeth. This action loosens the fibers and provides for easier separation of the trash therefrom as the fibers are subsequently buffeted against the grid bars.

For a description -of the invention in detail reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal schematically illustrated section of a cleaner constructed in `accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is an isometric view of the air blast dolfer particularly adapted for employment in the cleaner illustrated in Figure l.

The fibers to be processed, preferably somewhat opened fibers such as those produced by a bale breaker, hopper feeder or the like, are delivered by traveling lattice 1 into the nip of floating calender roll 2 and feed roll 3.

Feed roll 3 is mounted parallel and adjacent to beater cylinder 4 and is rotated so that the face of the feed roll moves in the same direction as the adjacent face of the beater cylinder in a fiber transfer relationship with cylinder 4. Feed roll 3 is partially enclosed within the beater housing 5 and is clothed with forward and backward pointing fiber working teeth on its periphery providing from about 50 to 8() points per square inch. These teeth are preferably arranged so that substantially all of them provide ber engaging faces inclined at least 5 degrees away from the radius of the roll and so that from about 50 to 75% of the faces are inclined opposite to the direction of rotation. The use of saw teeth having a straight back and round gullet arranged to provide alternate rows of teeth inclined away from the radius of the roll by from about 5 to 15 degrees, with the teeth inclined in, respectively, a forward and a backward direction, and the use of enough teeth to provide from about 55 to 65 tooth points per square inch, is preferred.

ICC

This type of feeder is similar to that disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 397,800, now abandoned, filed December 11, 1953. y

To insure that the fibers impaled on the teeth of roll 3 'are not prematurely engaged by the teeth of beater cylinder 4, a guard plate 6 is preferably mounted parallel to and in the crevice between the feed roll and the beater cylinder.

Beater cylinder 4 is a conventional cylindrical taker-in type beater clothed with forward pointing fiber working teeth providing from about 70 to 100 tooth points per square inch. The use of saw teeth having a straight back and round gullet providing faces inclined, in the direction the cylinder rotates, away from the radius of the cylinder by from about 10 to 40 degrees, and providing from about S0 to 95 tooth points per square inch, is preferred.

The beater cylinder 4 is rotated so that its peripheral speed is somewhat greater than that of feed roll 3. In general, a beater cylinder speed in the order of about 6 to 20 times that of the feed roll speed is preferred.

The teeth of beater cylinder 4 pick up fibers from the forward pointing teeth of feed roll 3 and comby them through the backward pointing feed roll teeth, and then buffet them against the grid bars 7. The grid bars 7 are preferably adjustably mounted. The use of triangular grid bars spaced from about 2 to 3 inches apart with their leading edges set from about %4 to 1/16 of an inch from the teeth ofthe beater cylinder, is preferred.

Since considerable amounts of trash pass between the grid bars 7, the dead air space below the grid bars Ais preferably provided with a means for removing trash, such as spiral blade conveyor 8.

rfhe cleaned fibers, after they have been carried past grid bars '7, are removed from the teeth of beater cylinder 4 by the action of the air-blast doffer illustrated in detail in Fig. 2. The doffer is provided with a housing 9 communicating along one side with a slit-type nozzle 10 disposed in a fiber dofiing relationship with the teeth of the beater cylinder 4. The air-blast doffer is preferably adjusted to produce a jet of air moving faster than the teeth of beater cylinder 4 thus to provide an aircurrent which carries the fibers well into the duct 11, which leads to the next following liber processing unit such as conventional rotary condenser cages 12 and 13.

The housing 9 is open as at 15 at at least one of the ends to the surrounding atmosphere for admittance of air.

Fan 14 mounted inside housing 9 comprises transversely extensive arcuate fan blades 16 rigidly mounted on rotatable shaft 17.

I claim:

A fiber cleaner comprising a rotatable beater cylinder having peripheral teeth, spaced grid bars adjacent the beater cylinder against which fibers contaminated with trash carried by the teeth of the beater cylinder are buffeted for expelling the trash outwardly between the grid bars, a rotatable feed roll for feeding the fibers containing trash onto the beater cylinder mounted parallel and adjacent to the beater cylinder with the face of the feed roll moving in the same direction as the adjacent face of the beater cylinder but at a lesser speed, said feed roll having forwardlyy and backwardly pointing teeth on its periphery, whereby the teeth of the beater cylinder pick up fibers from the forwardly pointing teeth of the feed roll and comb them through the backwardly pointing teeth thus to loosen the tiberspand provide for easier separation of the trash therefrom, and a doffer for doing the cleaned fibers from the beater cylinder.

(References on following page) UNITED STATES PATENTS Woolery Sept. 11, 1900 Cp11i171 s 7 7.. ,7 Aug. 18, 1908 5 Phelps r, 2-..-222- Apr. 2, 1912 Tryp'ani l July 20, 1915 Krupp ..7. Juue 26, 1917 4 Pettit Dec. 27, 1921 .Knne De,e. 28, 1926 Bennett Oct. 13, 1931 Day Feb. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy Aug. 23, 1939 

